Anthony Richardson scored two first-quarter rushing touchdowns before leaving the game with a concussion as the Indianapolis Colts powered to a 31-20 victory at the Houston Texans.
The battle of the youngest quarterback combination in NFL history was cut short due to Richardson’s injury, but it was shaping up to be a brilliant encounter, as CJ Stroud threw his first career score in a high-octane opening period.
Before his injury, Richardson went for 56 yards passing on six completions from 10, and 35 yards rushing on three carries, scoring twice.
Gardner Minshew came in and led the Horseshoe to victory with one passing touchdown of his own and 171 yards, with Zach Moss filling the Jonathan Taylor role with one touchdown and 88 yards from 18 carries.
Stroud grew into the game and looked in complete control by the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overturn the deficit in the end. The second overall pick in this year’s draft finished with 384 yards on 30-for-47 and two touchdowns.
-
Story of the game
The home side were missing a number of key players in their offensive line, leaving many expecting a tough day for Stroud against the Colts explosive defensive side of the ball.
The visitors got the ball to begin the game, with Richardson dumping the ball over the line of scrimmage to Michael Pittman Jr., but the Colts WR1 fumbled the ball. Fortunately for the Colts, it was not recovered before bobbling out of bounds.
Indy recovered and pushed the ball over halfway with relative ease, with a strong catch and run from Mo Alie-Cox setting the Colts up in the redzone. On the next play, Richardson took matters literally into his own hands for an 18-yard run for the second rushing touchdown of his fledgling career.
Second-pick Stroud had to respond from the same 18-yard line. The Colts defence stifled the opening run back for a three-yard loss to really pile on the young Texans QB. After a short completion, a strip-sack by the smothering Samson Ebukam and recovery by Kwity Paye gave Richardson an immediate chance at a second score.
The big Colts play-caller took that chance with aplomb, powering his way to the end zone for his second score in six first-quarter minutes. What went unnoticed at the time was the former Florida Gator’s head snapped back as he fell after scoring and bounced off the ground.
Stroud found his feet on his second drive, first with a big gain over the middle to Nico Collins, and a second to rookie Tank Dell got the Texans into Colt territory. A low throw to Robert Woods took the Texans to a 4th and 1 situation, which Dare Ogunbowale converted with a short two-yard punch.
And the Texans would capitalise on that position, with Collins receiving a short eight-yard reception for a touchdown – the first of Stroud’s NFL career.
A pair of three-and-outs, including the second sack on Stroud of the quarter, rounded out a fast-paced first period at NRG Stadium.
The second started with a flurry of Colt offensive penalties, followed by a second-consecutive punt by Rigoberto Sanchez. But that wasn’t the main story. Richardson headed back to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion, caused by that collision on his second score.
Minshew deputised while Richardson was away from the field, and the former Philadelphia Eagles QB led the team down the field for their third score of the game – a 12-yard run by Moss, who impressed on his return from injury.
Stroud responded immediately once again, with a 24-yard completion on the first play and a 19-yard gain later in the drive to Woods to leave the Texans 11 yards from the end zone. They could not get the ball further than that and settled for a field goal to cut it to an 11-point game.
Richardson failed the concussion protocol tests meaning Minshew was in for the rest of the game. And the backup QB led a near-perfect two-minute drill, ending in Kylen Granson’s first NFL touchdown, taking a 28-10 lead into the half.
-
Visiting defence holds firm for victory
As the second half began, the Colts defence came out strong, applying immediate pressure on young Stroud, forcing him back after making some progress towards midfield.
The Colts could only follow that impressive defensive stand with a field goal of their own to stretch the lead to 21 points, after losing centre Ryan Kelly to concussion, too.
Collins impressed all day for the hosting Texans, going for 146 yards on seven receptions, including a long one into Colts territory at the end of the third quarter.
Compared with the first two periods, the third was anything but enthralling with multiple injury timeouts breaking the play up.
The Texans thought they got themselves back into the game with a Dell touchdown, but a contentious holding penalty wiped that out. Stroud was sacked on the following play to bring out the kicking team to bring the score to 31-13 at the start of the fourth.
After a Colts three-and-out, the Texans seemed to be in the ascendancy. Woods thought he had taken a long one to the house along the side-line, but he stepped out of bounds under pressure around the Colts 40-yard-line.
Stroud kept his side moving with quick throws and found Dell on the right side-line who spun around the late-arriving defender to be able to sprint freely into the end zone, cutting the deficit to 11.
With six minutes left, the Colts punted from around midfield to pin their hosts at their own 12-yard-line. Faced with a 4th-and-3 situation, Stroud found the grateful hands of Woods to get his side up to the 29.
The QB’s trusty weapon Collins rescued the Texans on third down once again, going into the Colts half before Dalton Schultz picked up a first down of his own. Jake Martin stifled the momentum, though, giving Stroud his fifth sack of the day to bring out the field goal unit.
Ka’imi Fairbairn dragged the kick wide of the upright with 2:35 remaining, to all-but ensure the Colts victory. Sanchez punted the ball back to Houston and their nine-yard line with about a minute on the clock.
The Texans could not add to their tally and, to add insult to injury, DeForest Buckner sacked Stroud – the sixth Indy inflicted – on the final play of the game.
Shane Steichen’s Colts move to 1-1 on the season, while the Texans and Demeco Ryans drop to 0-2, but Stroud showed today that the future is bright in this part of Texas.
The two sides will meet in the final week of the regular season at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be interesting to see what permutations will be in play in January for these two transitioning clubs.